Literature Review It is virtually undisputed that the rock music industry in America is dominated by men. It "was basically a male club" in the 1960s and still is for the most part (Willis.) While some scholars assert that women have generally had smaller roles than men in making music, others argue that women have done just as much as men and simply have not been acknowledged for their achievements. Either way, it seems, women have a more difficult time than men in the world of rock music. I have found a number of questions that are raised in nearly all of my sources, as well as a few themes that have appeared frequently throughout the research process.
One of these themes is the perception of either masculinity or femininity in an artist's presentation, and how that impacts their success as a musician and their ability to continue their involvement in the music industry. When a woman shreds on guitar, swears, sings aggressively, etc. can she fit in as “one of the guys”? Women in local rock bands interviewed by Stephen Groce and Margaret Cooper say yes and no. They can be in roles traditionally given to men, such as the drummer of a band, but in those roles they are treated differently from men by both audiences and male band members. (Gill, Groce, Willis.)
Another question that came up was, can women rockers be popular if they are not or don’t try to be conventionally attractive? By beginning her article with a description of how well Joan Jett is aging, (in a "shockingly good" and "enviable" way apparently,) Susan Carpenter subtly asserts that success and looks do indeed go together. Janis Joplin on the other hand, someone "who was not conventionally attractive... could not only invent her own beauty... but have that beauty appreciated." (Willis.) On the other hand, her beauty was still based on male standards. So, does the music get listened to first or do the musicians get looked at first? (i.e. how important is appearance?) It seems important, but to what degree?
An unexpected theme that came up was the extraordinary diversity amongst women musicians. In terms of the music and the public persona of the artist, the degree to which they conform, and the ways in which they reject convention: these all vary greatly from musician to musician. Some musicians are more forthright about their rejection of convention, such as Ani DiFranco and Joan Jett, and some are more subtle. Saying “women musicians” is like saying “paperback books” in a sense: “paperback” tells us nothing of the author, genre nor writing style of the book. Likewise, the word “women” tells us nothing of the genre and instrumentation of the music, nor the identity of the musician outside of the fact – a socially constructed fact, not a biological fact (see definitions at bottom of page) – that she is a woman.
This raises the crucial question, what does it mean to be a woman in our society? It seems that the only thing that binds “women musicians” together and puts them into a separate category from men is their gender. (Feigenbaum.) So what does gender imply about other attributes that contribute to one’s identity? (Does it imply anything? Is there anything else that leads to their being grouped together?) What do people think gender implies about a person's other attributes? The other commonality between the groups besides gender is their collective disempowerment based on gender. Despite the vast differences outlined above, and the fact that their only inherent commonality is gender, women musicians tend to be grouped together and given their own category of rock music. They are largely left out of the “mainstream” (i.e. man/male) rock canon. The cycle feeds into itself: because they are thought of as different from the norm, they are left out. Because they are left out, they continue to be thought of as different, as outsiders. Stereotypes, it seems, are reinforced by men and women alike.
Sexuality and outward appearance, (especially in terms of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny) are recurring and importnat themes. A question: do more ‘traditional’ women inadvertently thwart the efforts of those actively involved in deconstructing the stereotypes? If so, what are the implications of this? Jennifer Guderman argues that while commercially successful pop bands like the Spice Girls can introduce subversive ideas in their music, to a large extent, it serves to reinforce traditional gender stereotypes. Some musicians, like Madonna or Blondie, manipulate their image and use their sexuality to make a point. They might exaggerate female stereotypes in an almost satirical way. (Guderman.) Others, like the bands in the feminist Riot Grrrl movement, tried to "mix up images and sound" in a way that outwardly and intensely rejected gender norms. They played aggressive punk music at a time when that whole genre seemed reserved for men only.
There is a very wide variety of reactions to the disempowerment of women in music. Musicians are subversive in many different ways, some more outwardly than others. The more up-front women musicians are about being non-conventional, the more they seem to be dismissed as ‘radical’ by the media. (This is exactly what the Riot Grrrl movement faced in the mid-1990s, along with artists like Ani DiFranco) [Feigenbaum.] There are many gray areas in all of this, depending on different definitions and perceptions. There are controversies as well, one of the most important being, to what extent do women musicians need to reject gender norms for the message to be one that challenges convention? Is there a particular 'packaging' that works and some that doesn't? *Girl power/reclaiming femininity vs. perpetuation of negative/limiting stereotypes - did the Spice Girls undermine the message of the Riot Grrrl bands, or are their messages compatible?
Note on race: Racial diversity is severely lacking in my research, and this is really frustrating! The vast majority of those "women rockers" I find are white. There’s an interesting parallel here though: Just as the mainstream press leaves women out of the man-oriented picture, or disregards their accomplishments because they aren’t the “norm,” people of color are frequently left out of the white-dominated, white-oriented portrayal of society. While I’m not going to focus on race in my paper, I need to touch on this because pretending that rock music is almost exclusively played by white women is silly. (Just as silly as pretending that it’s almost exclusively played by men!) The fact is, it’s just easier to find info on white women, because they’ve generally gotten more press than non-white women over the years. So a majority of my subjects will be white, but there should be a substantial number of people of color as well. And I will keep race in mind while I do research and write the paper.
Note on gender: I will frame my paper mostly in terms of the traditional western views that sex and gender are binary; that sex is male or female, and gender is man or woman. I’ll do this to highlight the binary definitions of and attitudes towards gender as limiting, and to hopefully break them down a bit. I will mostly write about people who identify as female/woman and male/man. This is because I want to look in depth at how women/females can reject gender norms while still identifying within the binary.
Helpful definitions:
Sex: the biologically based presumption of reproductive capability to determine a person’s label of female or male.
Gender: the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex.
Gender expression: all external characteristics and behaviors that are socially defined as either masculine or feminine, such as dress, mannerisms and speech patterns.
A few examples of gender/sex identities outside the binary: genderqueer, gender fluid, third gender, transgender, transexual.
Works Cited Carpenter, Susan. "Sex, Leather, Rock'n'Roll: It's a Matter of Reputation." Los Angeles Times 6 Aug. 2006. SIRS Knowledge Source. Web. 27 Feb. 2011.
Cooper, B. Lee. "Women's studies and popular music stereotypes." Popular Music and Society 23.4 (1999): 31. SIRS Knowledge Source. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.
Gaines, Donna. “The original riot grrrl.” Salon.com, Nov. 2006.
Gill, Chris. "Joan Jett: the original riot grrrl keeps it pure." Guitar Player 12 Oct. 1994: 10. General OneFile. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.
Green, Shannon L.. "Videos on Women in Popular Music, review by Shannon L. Green, Feminist Collections 23(2)." Women's Studies Librarian's Office, University of Wisconsin System. N.p., 23 May 2002. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://womenst.library.wisc.edu/fc/fcgreenpop.htm>.
Groce, Stephen B., and Margaret Cooper. "Just Me and the Boys? Women in Local-Level Rock and Roll." Gender and Society 4.2 (1990): 220-229. JSTOR. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.
Guderman, Jennifer. "Rocking Gender: Stereotype and Subversion Among Female Pop Musicians." Faculty Seminar series of Commencement 2010. Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt University, Nashville. 19 May 2011. Lecture.
Willis, Ellen. “Janis Joplin.” Rolling Stone, 1976.
It is virtually undisputed that the rock music industry in America is dominated by men. It "was basically a male club" in the 1960s and still is for the most part (Willis.) While some scholars assert that women have generally had smaller roles than men in making music, others argue that women have done just as much as men and simply have not been acknowledged for their achievements. Either way, it seems, women have a more difficult time than men in the world of rock music. I have found a number of questions that are raised in nearly all of my sources, as well as a few themes that have appeared frequently throughout the research process.
One of these themes is the perception of either masculinity or femininity in an artist's presentation, and how that impacts their success as a musician and their ability to continue their involvement in the music industry. When a woman shreds on guitar, swears, sings aggressively, etc. can she fit in as “one of the guys”? Women in local rock bands interviewed by Stephen Groce and Margaret Cooper say yes and no. They can be in roles traditionally given to men, such as the drummer of a band, but in those roles they are treated differently from men by both audiences and male band members. (Gill, Groce, Willis.)
Another question that came up was, can women rockers be popular if they are not or don’t try to be conventionally attractive? By beginning her article with a description of how well Joan Jett is aging, (in a "shockingly good" and "enviable" way apparently,) Susan Carpenter subtly asserts that success and looks do indeed go together. Janis Joplin on the other hand, someone "who was not conventionally attractive... could not only invent her own beauty... but have that beauty appreciated." (Willis.) On the other hand, her beauty was still based on male standards. So, does the music get listened to first or do the musicians get looked at first? (i.e. how important is appearance?) It seems important, but to what degree?
An unexpected theme that came up was the extraordinary diversity amongst women musicians. In terms of the music and the public persona of the artist, the degree to which they conform, and the ways in which they reject convention: these all vary greatly from musician to musician. Some musicians are more forthright about their rejection of convention, such as Ani DiFranco and Joan Jett, and some are more subtle. Saying “women musicians” is like saying “paperback books” in a sense: “paperback” tells us nothing of the author, genre nor writing style of the book. Likewise, the word “women” tells us nothing of the genre and instrumentation of the music, nor the identity of the musician outside of the fact – a socially constructed fact, not a biological fact (see definitions at bottom of page) – that she is a woman.
This raises the crucial question, what does it mean to be a woman in our society? It seems that the only thing that binds “women musicians” together and puts them into a separate category from men is their gender. (Feigenbaum.) So what does gender imply about other attributes that contribute to one’s identity? (Does it imply anything? Is there anything else that leads to their being grouped together?) What do people think gender implies about a person's other attributes? The other commonality between the groups besides gender is their collective disempowerment based on gender. Despite the vast differences outlined above, and the fact that their only inherent commonality is gender, women musicians tend to be grouped together and given their own category of rock music. They are largely left out of the “mainstream” (i.e. man/male) rock canon. The cycle feeds into itself: because they are thought of as different from the norm, they are left out. Because they are left out, they continue to be thought of as different, as outsiders. Stereotypes, it seems, are reinforced by men and women alike.
Sexuality and outward appearance, (especially in terms of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny) are recurring and importnat themes. A question: do more ‘traditional’ women inadvertently thwart the efforts of those actively involved in deconstructing the stereotypes? If so, what are the implications of this? Jennifer Guderman argues that while commercially successful pop bands like the Spice Girls can introduce subversive ideas in their music, to a large extent, it serves to reinforce traditional gender stereotypes. Some musicians, like Madonna or Blondie, manipulate their image and use their sexuality to make a point. They might exaggerate female stereotypes in an almost satirical way. (Guderman.) Others, like the bands in the feminist Riot Grrrl movement, tried to "mix up images and sound" in a way that outwardly and intensely rejected gender norms. They played aggressive punk music at a time when that whole genre seemed reserved for men only.
There is a very wide variety of reactions to the disempowerment of women in music. Musicians are subversive in many different ways, some more outwardly than others. The more up-front women musicians are about being non-conventional, the more they seem to be dismissed as ‘radical’ by the media. (This is exactly what the Riot Grrrl movement faced in the mid-1990s, along with artists like Ani DiFranco) [Feigenbaum.] There are many gray areas in all of this, depending on different definitions and perceptions. There are controversies as well, one of the most important being, to what extent do women musicians need to reject gender norms for the message to be one that challenges convention? Is there a particular 'packaging' that works and some that doesn't? *Girl power/reclaiming femininity vs. perpetuation of negative/limiting stereotypes - did the Spice Girls undermine the message of the Riot Grrrl bands, or are their messages compatible?
Works Cited
Carpenter, Susan. "Sex, Leather, Rock'n'Roll: It's a Matter of Reputation." Los Angeles Times 6 Aug. 2006. SIRS Knowledge Source. Web. 27 Feb. 2011.
Cooper, B. Lee. "Women's studies and popular music stereotypes." Popular Music and Society 23.4 (1999): 31. SIRS Knowledge Source. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.
Feigenbaum, Anna. “'Some Guy Designed This Room I'm Standing in': Marking Gender in Press Coverage of Ani DiFranco.” Popular Music. Vol. 24, No. 1 (Jan., 2005), pp. 37-56. Cambridge University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3877593
Gaines, Donna. “The original riot grrrl.” Salon.com, Nov. 2006.
Gill, Chris. "Joan Jett: the original riot grrrl keeps it pure." Guitar Player 12 Oct. 1994: 10. General OneFile. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.
Green, Shannon L.. "Videos on Women in Popular Music, review by Shannon L. Green, Feminist Collections 23(2)." Women's Studies Librarian's Office, University of Wisconsin System. N.p., 23 May 2002. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://womenst.library.wisc.edu/fc/fcgreenpop.htm>.
Groce, Stephen B., and Margaret Cooper. "Just Me and the Boys? Women in Local-Level Rock and Roll." Gender and Society 4.2 (1990): 220-229. JSTOR. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.
Guderman, Jennifer. "Rocking Gender: Stereotype and Subversion Among Female Pop Musicians." Faculty Seminar series of Commencement 2010. Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt University, Nashville. 19 May 2011. Lecture.
Willis, Ellen. “Janis Joplin.” Rolling Stone, 1976.